Research and Reflection

Introduction

This portfolio includes research I conducted concerning the journalism field in addition to all of the articles and layouts I produced throughout my college career working in different positions on the Oklahoma Christian University Talon. I will graduate in April 2007 with a degree in English and a minor in journalism, after which my desire is to work as a writer or editor for a newspaper or magazine company. Researching the field of journalism helps prepare me for the career world and discover what I would really like to do in that field.

Biography

At the age of 14, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. That year I tasted my first experience of working on a newspaper at my junior high school. Although it was a very simple process - at that time the stories were cut out, taped on the paper, and copied to produce our paper - I knew I loved it from the first story I wrote. The stories I wrote during that period were superficial stories such as "7th Heaven teaches life lessons" or "How to get a guy's attention". None of the things I wrote back then would I ever want to appear in a newspaper now. However, from that day forward, I knew "what I wanted to be when I grew up".

Then, I hit high school and was given the opportunity to write more hard-hitting stories such as "DECA raises funds for new gym" or "Meet Mr. Smith: new vice principal". I was even selected as Editor-in-Chief for our little paper entitled the Excelsior my senior year. I literally published the entire paper, once a week. During that time I helped head the endeavor to convert our paper from a tabloid to a broadsheet and obtain color for the pages, both of which succeeded. The hard work I experienced in high school prepared me well for college and helped me become one of the first freshmen to obtain the Oklahoma Christian University Talon Scholarship. Nevertheless, it also set me up for disappointment when I realized that my freshman year in college all I was going to be able to do was write stories and I would not be allowed to be a section editor until the next year. It did help me, however, to improve my writing skills and obtain a firm grasp on what I wanted to do in my life.

After spending a couple semesters writing for the Oklahoma Christian Talon, I was given the opportunity to serve as several different section editors including News, Photography, and Features. Making the transition from writing stories to making layouts was a difficult change but one that I quickly grew to love. Being able to take control of the stories and photographs to design the pages made me feel more accomplished. I learned how to design the pages in a way that they would appeal to and grab the attention of the reader. Having the ability to design the pages brought me back to my true passion of editing. One of the first rules of editing, however, is that you must first be able to write and once again I was back where I began with examining my abilities as a writer. During my senior year, we made the switch from using Adobe PageMaker to Adobe InDesign and I felt privileged to be on the staff during that transition. Throughout the years of editing, I improved my skills of writing headlines, editing stories, and designing pages. Having worked in journalism for the past eight years, I have learned more every year and will continue to learn more as I pursue a career in this field.

Influences

When I first came to Oklahoma Christian, I was seeking a degree in broadcast journalism, with a desire to become a news anchor like Kelly Ogle, from Oklahoma City's News 9, or former "World News Tonight" anchor Peter Jennings. After giving my go at a few broadcast classes, however, I decided that being in front of the camera was not a strong suit for me and I would much rather write a two page article than a 30 second sound clip. These discoveries helped facilitate my choice to change my major and career choice to print journalism. I had always felt inspired by print journalists at my local newspaper and was friends with the Newspress publisher.

One of my greatest influences to enter the journalism world was my high school journalism instructor Curtis Davis. He allowed me to take our newspaper, the Excelsior, and mold it into a more mature paper. Over my course as Editor-in-Chief of the paper, I was able to bring color to the pages and convert it from a tabloid to a broadsheet. Not only that, but the quality of our stories improved. I pressed the reporters to find more pressing topics than the usual profile articles and sports reviews. With Davis' support, the staff and I were able to improve the quality of the paper, which stands at that same quality since I have left.

Throughout my career on the Talon, I learned that while I searched for inspiration from other journalists, the people I interviewed could also be my inspiration. One of my favorite feature pieces I wrote during my experience with the Talon was a profile of Eric Grigg, an incredible accompanist who works on campus despite many offers from other colleges. I enjoyed every minute of writing that article, from the hour and a half long interview where he played me his favorite musical pieces to laying it out on the page with the photographs of him playing. It had started out as a simple class assignment and grew into one of my best articles. This taught me the importance of being interested in the story I am writing and really getting to know the person or people I am writing about. That allows that subject's personality to shine through the article ad improves my articles by adding emotion to gain the reader's attention.

In 2003, I had the distinct pleasure of listening to Ross Simpson speak and ever since he has been one of my inspirations. A veteran war correspondent, Simpson was embedded with the troops during the first Gulf War and many other U.S. military campaigns. He was even the first journalist to report from inside a military unit in Iraq, with some of the first ground troops to enter Iraq (Lockhart). He was embedded with the U.S. Marines' 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Division, and travelled with them from Kuwait to Baghdad, eventually ending up in Iraq (Lockhart). The passion with which he described his experiences with the troops and the passion that he holds for journalism captivated me and I have never forgotten his stories. After listening to him speak, I felt the desire to become as passionate about journalism as Simpson and he has ever since been one of my main inspirations.

Challenges

There are several challenges that I will face in my career as a journalist, particularly as a Christian. Some of the challenges I will face include the public's disinterest in the print media, the writing language differences between secular and religious journalism, and choice not to seek a degree in journalism. Also, I will face moral and ethical issues when working as a Christian journalist in a secular newspaper or magazine and my sex has the possibility of posing a challenge for those who see women as a lesser sex. All of these challenges will pose problems as I seek a career in the journalism field, and I offer several suggestions as to how I can find a solution or way to avoid these challenges from hindering my career as a journalist.

The biggest challenge that I will face stems from the public's disinterest in the print media. In an age where anyone can flip on a TV, radio, or Web site to find out anything they wish to know, few choose to read the newspaper for their information. David Mindich writes that "forty-seven percent of those who were 23-27 years old in 1972 read a newspaper every day. In 2002, only 19 percent of 23-27-year-olds read newspaper every day" (29). He also found that 82 percent of 18-24-year-olds use TV news as a media source while only 38 percent read the newspaper for their news information (33). This decline in interest of newspaper readership poses a problem for those seeking a job as a write. To overcome this, I will focus on making my writings interesting for the reading public by tailoring my writings to the audience that will be reading them. This depends, however, on where I find a job and what that position entails.

One of the main challenges I will face, however, will not be one created by others. Rather, it is one that I will struggle with on my own - language. Roland E. Wolseley's book examines the career field of religious journalism and its differences with secular journalism. Wolseley points out that "the religious journalist must be possessed of a special vocabulary" (63). Like any other specified area, religious writings also have their own language. In addition to the widely used words such as "sacrament, altar, and vestment", there are more specific words such as "phylacteries, jube, pyx, diaconicon, urceole, and euchology" (63). If I choose to write or edit for a religious publication, I will need to study the special words involved with Christian writings in order to gain a firm understanding of that language and write informed articles or edit those which come across my desk.

Another challenge that I will face involves my degree choice. I started my career at Oklahoma Christian as a journalism major but chose to change to English after two years due to course selections. Employers might doubt my journalistic abilities due to my lack of classroom journalism teachings. I do not, however, see this as a problem due to my experience and training with the Excelsior and Talon. According to a survey done by David H. Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit, only forty-seven percent of employed journalists hold bachelor's in journalism (Medsger 27).[1] Also, those who achieved high honors in journalism were not limited to those with a journalism education. Those who did not study journalism at a university level include:

· 59% of recent Pulitzer Prize winners

· 75% of recent Alfred I. du Pont Award winners

· 58% of recent Nieman fellows

· 51% of recent Knight fellows and 54% of those from 1966[2]

Furthermore, among the Pulitzer and du Pont winners, "58% of those who did not major in journalism majored in either English (36%) or history (22%)" (30). Therefore, not holding a journalism degree will, more than likely, not affect my desired career as a journalist.

As a journalist who is a Christian writing in the secular world, there are several moral and ethical issues that I will face. If I choose to work at a non-religious publication, I might be faced with situations that challenge my Christianity. For example, I might be assigned to write about evolution, abortion, or some other topic that poses arguments in the world. Since I do not believe in evolution, I will have to choose between risking my job by refusing to write the article or writing the article even though it goes beyond my moral beliefs. Wolseley writes that "it is perhaps possible for the journalist to be of greater influence for his faith than the professional religious worker who may not reach so many of the unchurched and sometimes moves in a protected circle" (15). I must keep this in mind as I work, no matter what job I find because, according to Erma Paul Ferrari, "to the Christian every job is a Christian job" (qtd. in Wolseley 15). I will choose to be a worker "in secular journalism in a secular setting who insist[s] upon living up to their religious ideals" (20). One of my main goals is to become an evangelistic reporter in a secular setting, exposing the non-religious of the world to my faith and being an example for them.

Some see women as a lesser sex, and that is a challenge that I will face, no matter my career choice. In the newspaper or magazine business, however, this can pose a real problem as it could keep me from being published simply because of my gender. Cokie Roberts, an ABC News anchor/reporter, recognizes this predicament and marvels that "for the women of my age, it is interesting to us that we now have an accusation that we are only where we are because we are women. For a long time we were told we couldn't be anywhere because we were women" (qtd. in Allan, 131). Allan cites a survey which found that 70 percent of women journalists consider it more difficult for capable women journalists to get ahead in their careers and capable men journalists.[3] "Most newsrooms paper to be characterized by a gendered division between 'hard' news reporters, who tend to be men, and 'features' reporters, who are more likely, at least in relative terms, to be women" (142). Wolseley suggests that "because generally women are more active and seemingly more interested than men in church work, one might expect more religion reporters to be women" (51).

Works Cited

Allan, Stuart. News Culture. Ed. Stuart Allan. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press, 1999.

Lockhart, Roger. "Embedded in Baghdad to Live Studio Anchor: AP Radio's Ross Simpson Returns to DC". Associated Press. 2 May 2003. 30 Nov. 2006. .

Medsger, Betty. Winds of Change: Challenges Confronting Journalism Education. Arlington, VA: The Freedom Forum, 1996.

Mindich, David T.Z. Tuned Out: Why American under 40 Don't Follow the News. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Wolseley, Roland E. Careers in Religious Journalism. Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press, 1966.

[1]Note that this study was conducted in 1995 and surveyed those who became journalists between 1984 and 1994.

[2] Medsger, 29.

[3] Research study conducted by MORI Online for Women in Journalism in 1998. Note that this percentage is that of women journalists with children.